WASHINGTON – A former kindergarten aide in Prince William County has pleaded guilty to decades of child sexual abuse.
Steffon Rodney Christian pleaded guilty to 22 counts of sexual abuse involving eight young victims. Many of them knew Christian from when he worked with children at Baldwin Elementary School from 1981 to 1999.
Christian, 48, supervised the open gym program and was a kindergarten and library aide. He was also the safety patrol leader.
In one case, he promised a video game console to a boy to get him to go along with the sexual abuse.
After 20 years of keeping quiet, one 29-year-old victim broke his silence when he learned of the Penn State sex abuse scandal.
Insidenova.com reports that 45 of the 67 charges were dropped under the plea agreement.
Several of Christian’s victims and their family members were present in the courtroom during the hearing.
Prosecutors will ask for 20 to 30 years in prison when he’s sentenced, though the judge can impose up to a life sentence.
WTOP’s Neal Augenstein contributed to this report. Follow Neal Augenstein and WTOP on Twitter.
(Copyright 2012 by WTOP. All Rights Reserved.)
